Getting Back To Him
by story'smything
Summary: Captain Beckett realises that leaving Castle is not going to keep him safe. He is Castle after all. AU post PhDead.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note : This is one of my first muti-fic stories. It might get 2-3 more chapters depending on the response i get.**

 **Reviews are more than welcome. Constructive critisicm makes my day. Just tell me if you like it or not.**

 **Rating is K**

 **Disclaimer : The world of Castle does not belong to me. I am just borrowing them to pass my time.**

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The decision she had taken to pursue LOCSAT had taken its toll on Kate. She knew it would be tough but had never taught having Castle within reach but not giving in to her feelings for him would be this difficult. Now she could fully appreciate how she had made Castle feel the year after she had been shot. Atleast she had the assurance that Castle knew she loved him now.

The hollow feeling had creeped into the place her heart had been just as she was taking those few steps away from the loft, towards the elevator. She felt like a zombie but she knew she had to keep up the facade to keep Espo, Ryan and Lanie from dragging her back to Castle. These last few days had been the hardest in her life. But she had to go on.

The only thing keeping her going was the fact that the sooner she found this LOCSAT guy and put him behind bars, the sooner she could get back together with Castle. It was with this very taught that she stepped into the precinct this morning.

"Morning Captain, we caught a new case just now, would you like to join us ?", said Espo. He knew that even though Beckett had wanted to become Captain very badly, she missed the field work she did as a detective. "Sure Espo, give me a minute".

The murder had taken place near a live music club but the victim did not look like he was a nightlife person. He was pretty well dressed except for the clean hole in his office suit where the bullet had pierced his heart.

"Well the cause of death is the 9mm bullet hole to his heart. It was a single shot with a clean exit wound. I think the killer was a professional judging by the placement of the shot.", said Lanie.

"Anyway to Id him ?", asked Ryan. "No wallet or Id on the body. You will have to wait until I get him back to the morgue and run DNA and fingerprints."

"Espo, look around for clues here, Ryan and I will go interview the girl who informed us of the crime and see if she saw or heard anything. ", said Kate. "I am off to the morgue.", said Lanie and then standing up and coming closer to Kate, she said in a low voice, "I want you to come home for a ladies night out tonight, girl. I know you are going through some distressing stuff and you won't tell us anything about it, but I want you to know we are all there for you and God knows you could use the break tonight. "

"Thanks Lanie", said Kate with a hint of a smile, thanking the day she became friends with the kind hearted ME. Just then her phone rang. She answered with a curt "Captain Beckett".

"Kate, Alexis here. Martha didn't want me to call you but I thought you should know, Dad..."

Kate's heart started racing and her world started spinning. What had her husband gotten himself into this time ?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - I needed the break from studying and so I came up with this. The next chapter might take a bit longer. I will also try to increase the length of the chapters I post. Castle Monday today ! Read and review guys, please. Reviews make my day. I also thank the reviewers for my previous chapter.**

 **Disclaimer : Castle does not belong to me. I am playing with the characters.**

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 **Recap :**

 _"Kate, Alexis here, Martha didn't want me to call you but I thought you should know, Dad..."_

 _Kate's heart started racing and her world started spinning. What had her husband gotten himself into this time ?_

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 _"_ Dad has been admitted to the hospital, they are saying something about a concussion. We don't know the details yet."

"I'll be there in 10." Her team knew by the look on her face that something very wrong had happened.

"What is it Beckett ?", asked Ryan, concern evident in his eyes. The same look was reflected on Lanie and Espo's faces as well. "Guys, it's Castle."

10 minutes later, Beckett had her car parked and was rushing into the hospital with her three comrades hot on her heels.

After demanding the floor number from an alarmed looking receptionist, Kate finally made it to the patient's waiting area. "Alexis ! How is he ? Did someone tell you what exactly happened ?"

The junior redhead ran into Kate's arms. This small gesture of affection warmed Kate's heart while guilt pricked her for leaving Alexis to deal with her sudden departure a weak earlier. "The doctor was here just now. The concussion is minor and there is no internal bleeding in the brain. They said he does not require surgery and can regain consciousness anytime now."

Relief and joy coursed through Kate's veins. He was ok, he was going to return to normal soon. It was all she could do to keep herself from collapsing onto the floor and sobbing like a little child from happiness. Lanie hugged Kate and gave her a chance to let out some of the pent up emotion she had been feeling.

Just then the doctor arrived. After Kate introduced herself to the doctor, he told them that Castle would regain consciousness very soon but that the number of visitors to his room would be limited as he could be suffering from irritability and minor headaches. Lanie, Espo and Ryan left to catch up on their work after making Kate promise that she would give them hourly updates on Castle. After all they had a crime to solve.

"So Alexis, where is Martha ?"

"She went home to shower after the doctor told us there was nothing to worry about. She said she would get us some coffee on the way back."

After a minute of silence, Kate finally voiced the question that had been eating away at her since she had received the phone call. "So Alexis, how did this happen ?"

After a moment of hesitation, Alexis answered, " We were investigating a case that we came across 2 days ago. Last night, dad thought we had a lead that could help us crack the case. I told him that we should go together to look into it but he wanted to do it himself. He wouldn't tell me what the lead was because he thought it was too dangerous and knew I would follow him if he gave anything away. He wasn't at home when I woke up this morning and the next thing I knew, we got a phone call from the hospital, telling us dad has been admitted here." A sob broke out from the young girl and Kate understood the distress she had undergone. She wrapped her arm protectively around the girl, comforting her.

Just then she heard someone walk into the waiting area. "So Alexis couldn't resist calling you. Could she ? Glad you haven't forgotten us Kate." Kate looked up to see Martha Rodgers, standing with 2 cups of coffee, tears glinting in her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - So this is the third chapter. It is a bit longer than the other two. I hope you guys like it. Thank you for the wonderful reviews. I get motivated when I read them. The next chapter will take longer to post.**

 **Constructive criticism and reviews please !**

 **Disclaimer - I do not own Castle and its characters. This is just my imagination.**

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 _ **Recap**_

 _"So Alexis couldn't resist calling you. Could she ? Glad you haven't forgotten us Kate." Kate looked up to see Martha Rodgers, standing with two cups of coffee, tears glinting in her eyes._

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That simple statement felt like a stab to Kate's heart. When she had decided to leave Castle, the only thing on her mind had been protecting him. She had only wanted to keep him safe and out of harm's way. But it had never occurred to her that Martha, the closest person to a mother that she had and Alexis, whom she thought of as her own daughter would be affected this much. Though she knew that she had done what she had done to shield Castle, she also knew that Martha's hurt and anger was justified. She had, after all, disappeared without a proper explanation.

"Gram, do we really have to do this here ?", asked Alexis, too aware of the tension bubbling beneath the surface of her grandmother's seemingly calm demeanor. "Well Alexis, I see no reason why we can't do this now, what with Kate being here and all." Martha Rodgers could take a lot of things with a grain of salt, but hurting her son was not one of them.

"Do you care to explain yourself Kate ?" "Martha, I know that what I am doing might seem cold and heartless but please believe me, I love Rick."

"Love him Kate ? Well, I don't really see that with the way you've acted recently."

Kate wanted to tell her everything just to clear the doubts in the actresses's mind. She wanted Martha to see why she had left him, how much it was hurting her, how hard she was struggling to go through day after day without Richard Castle by her side every single minute. "Martha, you of all people should know how much Rick means to me. He truly is my one and done. I can't tell you the reason behind my actions but please just trust me when I say I did not do this to hurt Rick. In fact, I did it to protect him. Martha, do you really think I would have left Rick if there was any other way out ?"

Even though she wanted to, Martha could not deny the honesty shining in Kate's eyes. She could see the depth of love that her daughter in law had for her son. She could also see the change in Kate's body language too. She had only been gone a week but her shoulders seemed to sag and her eyes seemed hollow, as though she was carrying the burden of the world on her shoulders. In that moment Martha's resolve broke for she could not hold a grudge against anyone who loved her son so much, least of all Katherine Beckett. She walked slowly over to Kate and Alexis, gently placed the coffees on an empty chair and grabbed Kate into a fierce hug. "I've missed you kiddo." Alexis shed a few happy tears at seeing the reunion and joined the hug. And for one fleeting moment, Kate forgot about everything else in the world and let herself be comforted by her family.

Just then a nurse walked into the room, breaking the group hug. "Mr. Castle is awake and can receive visitors now. But we can only allow one person at a time, he will not want to be crowded."

As much as she wanted to rush in and confirm that her husband was alive and safe, Kate knew that Alexis was dying to see her father and Martha, her son. "You guys should go in first, I can wait." "Are you sure ?", asked Alexis. "Ofcourse Alexis, you should go first." Receiving a nod of confirmation from Martha, Alexis went in to see her father.

After 15 minutes of tapping her feet and gazing a hole through the hospital floor, her turn to visit Castle finally came. She rushed towards the door but hesitated just before pushing them open. What If he didn't want to see her ? What if her being here made the situation worse ? Alexis sensed the dilemma that Kate was going through, "Go on Kate, I am sure dad wants to see you." With a small nod, Kate walked into the room.

"Kate !", the radiant smile on Castle's face made her day. She ran to his side and hugged him. "Careful there, my head seems to be throwing a tantrum today.", said Castle, with his trademark grin. Even though he looked tired and worn out, he still managed to make Kate's heart beat faster. "Don't ever do that to me again Castle." "Ok, getting conked out is a NO NO from now on."

She couldn't help but laugh out at his statement. He could make even her worst day feel like a joyride. She stared into those love filled, blue eyes and before her brain could filter her words, she said, "How can you not be angry with me after all that I've put you through, Castle ?" He smiled gently at her and said, "Because I love you Kate, and I know that you love me too." This man, her precious husband, had been willing to wait 4 years to break her walls bit by bit, she knew now that he did not need an explanation and that he would take her back gladly once she was done. She placed a gentle but firm kiss on his lips, conveying all her emotions. "We will be back together Castle, and soon. After that, no more secrets, I promise." "I will hold you to that.", he said taking her hand into both of his. "So, tell me, what were you doing that led you to the hospital ?", asked Kate, settling into the visitor's chair by his bedside.

She could see from the change in his posture that he was in storytelling mode now. And she wanted to hear this one. "Well, Alexis and I got an email to the P.I's mail account from a woman named Dorothy Johnson, 2 days ago. Her husband Paul had been missing since the previous day and she wanted my help in looking for him. She knew she couldn't go to the police so soon but was worried that something had happened to him. She found out about me and my experience with the NYPD through the internet. I dug out his calendar and yearbook and found out yesterday that he frequented a live music club downtown. Research on the bar owner showed that he was a shady character with a criminal record. So I left Alexis out of it and went on my own to ask around and find out if Paul had been spotted there recently. I parked my car 2 blocks away to avoid suspicion and had barely walked down the road when I was struck from behind. Next thing I know, I am here at the hospital."

Kate was about to ask Castle if he remembered anything else when her phone rang. "Captain Beckett"

"Beckett, Espo here. We just ran the victim's fingerprints that Lanie got through our database. We got an ID. Our victim is one Paul Johnson."


End file.
